Enzo Maresca questions Chelsea's desire after demoralising Brighton defeat in Premier League

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has conceded that his side were comprehensively outfought by Brighton & Hove Albion as they suffered a 3-0 defeat on Friday night.

Having suffered a 2-1 reverse at the Amex Stadium in the FA Cup last weekend, Maresca had been hopeful of a change in fortunes six days later.

Instead, Chelsea produced one of their worst Premier League performances of the season, never recovering from Kaoru Mitoma's outstanding opener.

Despite having over two thirds of possession, Chelsea did not have a single shot on target, the Blues fortunate that they did not suffer a heavier defeat on the South coast.

© Imago

What did Maresca have to say?

Speaking at a press conference after the game, Maresca admitted that Chelsea "need to show more", particularly in the final third despite also frequently looking vulnerable in defence.

The Italian told reporters, as quoted by football.london: "In the moment we are, 14 games to go before tonight's game, you can go one point from third.

"To come here and play in the way we played, not on the ball but in terms of desire we need to show more."

He added: "In terms of the way we play on the ball, it wasn't our worst performance. The result, yeah, no doubt. We arrived in the final third but struggled to create chances.

"In this moment, the bad feeling is that we look as if we will easily concede chances and struggle to create chances. We have 13 games to go and we need to finish in the best way."

© Imago

Where do Chelsea go from here?

Chelsea have now prevailed from just two of their last nine Premier League games, collecting just the nine points.

Although two of their next five games are at home to Southampton and Leicester City, the other three are against Aston Villa, Arsenal (both away) and Tottenham Hotspur.

Depending on the result between Manchester City and Newcastle United, as well as how Bournemouth fare against Southampton, Chelsea could end Saturday in sixth position in the standings.